Nairobi Rescuers search for trapped residents after building collapse kills seven (Update)

Rescue workers dug for more residents feared trapped in the rubble of a six-storey building that collapsed in Nairobi after days of heavy rain, killing at least seven people.

The building collapsed in Nairobi’s Huruma residential estate late on Friday, raising concerns about the safety of other blocks in the area.

“It is raining, and these houses were built without Nairobi County authorisation,” Jonathan Mueke, deputy governor of Nairobi County, said on Saturday on privately-owned QTV station. “I am asking residents in the area to leave. In the area where this one collapsed there are 189 houses.”

Kenyan television stations showed rescue and security workers working through rubble and heavy slabs of concrete. It is not known how many people were in the building at the time of its collapse.

“Seven people are confirmed dead and 121 people have been rescued and rushed to various hospitals in Nairobi,” Japheth Koome, Nairobi County police boss, told Reuters by telephone.

Kenyan Red Cross said on its Twitter feed late on Friday that people from 150 households were taking shelter in a nearby village.

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